I'll just say this and I'm arguing Sterns price hikes, not currency rates which have nothing to do with increasing the usd price. Please answer this.
Why are old b/w pinballs sales going crazy and prices at stupid prices? I think......bnib prices too high otherwise you gotta agree new is trouble free.....yes? And secondly, people may prefer playing complete games re coding issue. There is also a possible third reason and I cannot backup with data or research but maybe creativity and fun factor. For me this is not so as I do like some Stern games but I'm hearing a lot of disappointment in taking stern not taking risks in introducing new innovations and tricks. All my car/pc/entertainment equipment purchases are based on improving my life, upgrading to be specific. Dunno if I've met anyone go out of their way to buy an XT computer by throwing away their current machine.....I could be wrong
First of all - where is the evidence that they are going for stupid prices ? Ebay ? Ebay is bait for an unsuspecting buyer that learns that after their first pinball purchase - they have been ripped off !
From my point of view, and within my business, I've signed up B/W titles as High End Restorations that are surpassing Stern's Pro and Premium prices. Pinheads are buying games that they played when they were young. They identify with a period of their life, and they have saved up enough to buy an example of that machine. In 10 years time, a present day collector will be asking me to do the same with an AC/DC etc.
The reason Stern don't innovate as in decades past, is because people are happy to pay the current prices. Having said that, and back on topic - the "under the playfield ramp" is considered an innovation - and it took Trudeau to come up with it !
The XT Computer analogy - I sold my Commodore 64 original games on disk and cartridge 20 years ago. Those cartridges are worth a fortune these days. I have a super rare COMX-35 Computer - very rare and worth a lot of money. It is like anything - it is collectible after a few years. An original IBM X86 would be woth a small fortune, and I'm sure some people would take the trip down memory lane and play the original Sim City..
so if I understand correctly pinball hobbyists are not for the pinball play but to relive the past. My bad as I play because I enjoy the concept of pinball. I won't buy an XT to watch a stationary human like figure slide across the screen and call it the olympic games or kings quest 1 where I can't make out what that blob is on the screen that will help me solve the puzzle and progress. Res evil on xbox one is more my style now. I get where you're coming from btw but think Stern's unwillingness to push the envelope is no helping to progress this industry. I like to be wowed and blown away by new things. Do you remember the "juggler" on the first ega systems. What a wank but it got me excited and watching. That's the actual thrill I'm yearning for to really spark a major buzz in this hobby. My opinion not everyone's.
For all the guys who take offence to people's posts that disagree with theirs. I consider Nino a mate, and respect his thoughts, but can disagree with him sometimes. I don't think he'll put me on ignore nor need to get nasty. 
Almost every person that buys a machine from APR, buys that machine predominantly, as it is a game they used to play in the arcades and fish and chip shops. KISS fans (40's) bought Stern KISS. A Justin Beaver pinball would simply never sell more than a handful. People who buy late model Sterns are pinheads that already had games from previous time periods. I've never come across a pinball collector, that started collecting NIB Sterns. They are started from somewhere else.
